1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device.
2. Background Information
Conventional color image forming devices principally comprise a image forming device main body, a plurality of photosensitive drums, a plurality of development devices, a plurality of toner holding containers, and a plurality of drive power transmission mechanisms (for example, see JP-09-0160338-A). The photosensitive drums are rotatably mounted in the image forming device main body. The development devices serve to supply toner to the surface of the photosensitive drums, and are mounted in the image forming device main body. The toner holding containers comprise toner holding container main bodies, toner stirring members, and toner transport members. The toner holding container main bodies are mounted in juxtaposition on the image forming device main body. The toner stirring members serve to stir the toner that is held in the toner holding container main bodies, and are rotatably mounted within the toner holding container main bodies. The toner transport members serve to transport the toner that has been stirred by the toner stirring members, and are rotatably mounted within the toner holding container main bodies. The drive power transmission mechanisms comprise a housing that is mounted on the image forming device main body, drive means, such as a drive motor, that is mounted on the housing, and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the drive power of the drive motor to the toner stirring member.
In such a color image forming device, when each of the drive motors of the drive power transmission mechanisms rotate, the toner stirring members are rotated by way of the transmission mechanisms. Then, when the toner stirring members rotate, the toner transport members are rotated by gears, which are provided between the toner stirring members and the toner transport members.
In conventional color image forming devices, because the toner stirring members in each of the plurality of toner holding containers are separately driven, a plurality of drive power transmission mechanisms are mounted in the image forming device main body. And because, in such color image forming devices, drive motors are mounted in the housings of a plurality of drive power transmission mechanisms, each of these housings themselves must be large. As it is necessary to reserve an amount of space that corresponds to these large sized housings for the drive power transmission mechanisms within the image forming device main body for mounting the housings in the image forming device main body, it is difficult to reduce the size of the color image forming device.
Meanwhile, in conventional color image forming devices, drive motors are installed for each of the plurality of drive power transmission mechanisms. With color image forming devices of this sort, because it is necessary to provide as many drive motors as there are drive power transmission mechanisms, the cost of manufacturing the drive power transmission mechanisms, which is to say, the cost of manufacturing the color image forming device, increases with the number of drive power transmission mechanisms.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need to make the drive power transmission mechanism more compact and to reduce the costs of manufacturing the drive power transmission mechanism.